Question

i say that every prince ought to desire to be considered clement and not cruel. nevertheless he ought to take care not to misuse this clemency. cesare borgia was considered cruel; notwithstanding, his cruelty reconciled the romagna, unified it, and restored it to peace and loyalty. and if this be rightly considered, he will be seen to have been much more merciful than the florentine people, who, to avoid a reputation for cruelty, permitted pistoia to be destroyed. therefore a prince, so long as he keeps his subjects united and loyal, ought not to mind the reproach of cruelty; because with a few examples he will be more merciful than those who, through too much mercy, allow disorders to arise, from which follow murders or robberies; for these are wont to injure the whole people, whilst those executions which originate with a prince offend the individual only.
-the prince,
niccolò machiavelli
machiavelli’s claim in the passage is that leaders must find a balance between kindness and cruelty
machiavelli’s evidence includes
personal stories
historical examples
statistics

Explanation:

The passage uses Cesare Borgia's actions in the Romagna and the Florentine people's handling of Pistoia as specific, real historical cases to support Machiavelli's claim about leadership. These are not personal stories (they are about public figures/historical events) nor statistics (no numerical data is used).

Answer:

historical examples